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The little Bs

A few days ago while I was minding my own business and walking to our field with the dogs, I felt two red hot stabbing pains in my back. I ripped off my T-shirt (as one does) – it was one of the rare days for the last few weeks when I wasn’t swaddled in a fleece – and ran back to the house to examine the damage. Unfortunately the wounds were inaccessible whichever way I tried; my arms just don’t bend sufficiently so I did the best I could to scrape out the stings with a spoon. I never did find them, so I began to think it was maybe it was a wasp rather than bees that had got me.

However, today it happened again. One of the little shits flew straight into my face and stung me on the cheek. There were several buzzing angrily around me, so I ran away with my tail between my legs – surprised myself by how quickly I could move. :)

This time I was able to get the sting. This is what it looks like:

Wonder why they are so bad-tempered? Maybe they’re fed up with the weather, just like so many people. It’s been SO erratic and unpredictable. We’ve had days when the temperature has been up in the high 20s in the morning, followed by a biting easterly wind in the afternoon. Once the sun goes down the change is dramatic – last week our neighbours said it had been down to freezing overnight.

If I wasn’t worried that they might attack the dogs, I’d go out tomorrow, whatever the weather, swathed in thick coat, boots, hat, gloves and scarf wrapped around my face. But I can’t take the risk of the dogs being stung. So what to do?

5 thoughts on “The little Bs”

Oh dear, we are bee keepers and ours seem to be acting fairly normally, I have been near to the hives with the mower and strimmer last week with no ill affects. Now is the season for swarming and there are a lot about, i can only presume you went close to one. They dont like dogs or any other furry animals including fleece so be careful.

Had a friendly bee-keeper round on Friday, who agreed that these were very “buzzy” bees. A really angry mob. Apparently I have been walking across their flight path into the oak tree where they are nesting. I’m keeping an eye out to see if they swarm and can be collected by the b-k; otherwise he is talking of building a structure around the nest to move them. We have quite a few furries here – goats, dogs and cat, and in this weather a fleece (sometimes two :) ) is a necessity.

I think i’d stay well clear. Mr. Fly found a nest in the porch of the San Jose house and the neighbour told him to get the fire brigade tout de suite as a chap in his fifties had been killed by multiple stings the week before in a park over the road.
They came straight out, armed to the teeth and did the deed.

Horrible way to go, Fly. :( Poor soul. One sting was enough to bring up a large painful red lump. But at least it is good to know that there are some honeybees managing to survive pesticide murder by French farmers.